Jim Allchin’s email to Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer showed that Windows Vista development was in a bad shape three years ago. “I see lots of random features and some great vision, but that does not translate into great products.”
The fact is that, not much has changed until today, Jim. You should still consider buying a Mac today. Windows Vista today does not have a character.
The UI changes bring nothing revolutionary except potentially more training to all level of users. Microsoft have missed the whole point. You should start getting a usage survey of what are the frequently clicked areas rather than burying more and more useful functionalities deep inside.
Reorganizing the way of using Windows is NOT an innovation. The user wants a better experience - do things quicker, smarter, more elegant etc - and not experiencing unnecessary change to what they are already used to.